When you’re a kid, fear can spring up at a moment’s notice. When something goes wrong like the fruit snacks running out, spilling your milk, a favorite toy breaking, losing sight of mom or dad at the park, failing a test or losing a best friend, it feels like standing on the deck of the Titanic as it sinks or falling like the Hindenburg in ball of fire. When things go wrong, courage might flare up for a moment, but when we are out of options and our situation escalates out of our hands fear takes hold.
When the storms of life come, fear quickly follows. Expecting no storms in life is unrealistic and immature. There will be storms in all our lives. There will be hiccups, troubles, upsets, tragedies, losses, failures, etc. in life, and some are quick, some are seasons and some last a lifetime. In our Old Testament reading from 1 Kings 19, Elijah was in the middle of a storm. God had worked through him a great victory about six weeks earlier when he miraculously sent fire down from heaven to consume a waterlogged sacrifice to prove he was the one true God in opposition to the false prophets of Baal who cried out all day long only to watch their sacrifice rot in the sun with not so much as a spark or flicker of flame. After the great victory, Elijah had the prophets of Baal put to death, but when the wicked Queen Jezebel found out her worthless idolatry had been exposed, she swore Elijah would suffer the same fate as the false prophets. Filled with fear, Elijah ran. Fear of Jezebel’s death threat took over because he took his eyes off the LORD God Almighty. Eventually, the LORD brought him to a cave at Mount Horeb, better known as Mount Sinia, where God had appeared to Moses about 700 years earlier. There in the cave, we hear what God said to Elijah in 1 Kings 19, And the word of the LORD came to him: “What are you doing here, Elijah?” 10 He replied, “I have been very zealous for the LORD God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.” The LORD knew why Elijah was in the cave, but he asked and listened to his full response. Then, the LORD sent a hurricane force wind, an earthquake and fire. After the fire came a whisper, and once again the LORD asked, 13 … “What are you doing here, Elijah?” Elijah repeated the same response from before. Then, the LORD told him to return to his work. And Elijah was kept safe from Jezebel, in fact he did not die, but was taken to heaven in a flaming chariot.
There is a pattern in Scripture of blessing and testing. Elijah was blessed with a victory over the prophets of Baal, but when he could have trusted in the LORD to protect him from Jezebel, he ran away in fear. In our Gospel reading from Matthew 14, we see a similar pattern unfold for the Peter and the disciples. After a long day of teaching and healing, the disciples asked Jesus to send the crowds away to get something to eat, but Jesus told the disciples to give them something to eat. Confused by his prompt, Jesus then took the five loaves and two fish they had found, gave thanks to his Father in heaven, and fed the five thousand men, not including the women and children. Then, we read in Matthew 14, 22 Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. While the disciples made their way across the Sea of Galilee, Jesus prayed on a mountainside by himself. The disciples battled considerable wind and waves all night and were still not across the lake just before dawn, then Jesus walked out to them on the water. Through the early light, the disciples thought Jesus was a ghost and they were filled with fear. Most of the disciples were seasoned fishermen, and familiar with the sea and its storms, but in that early light seeing a person walking on the water terrified them. In response to their fear, we read in Matthew 14, 27 But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” 28 “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.” 29 “Come,” he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!” Peter was reassured and filled with courage by the voice of Jesus who identified himself with the ‘I AM’, here translated as “It is I”, connecting his identity to the LORD God who appeared to Moses in Exodus 3 on Mount Horeb, where God spoke to Elijah. Then, as was his unique personality and with a boost of courage, Peter was able to join Jesus on the water, but the blessing did not last. When Peter saw the wind, he forgot the power of Jesus and fear filled his heart. As Peter began to sink, he cried out to Jesus to save him, with less faith in him as the Savior and more out of desperate fear clinging to the one object not made of water around him. Regardless of the lack of faith in Peter’s split-second cry, we read, 31 Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?” On the heels of Jesus feeding the crowd of thousands mere hours before, and Peter being able to walk out to Jesus on the water, doubt flooded Peter’s heart. In the storm, Peter doubted Jesus’ power to keep him safe.
There will be storms in life. Living in denial because life has not turned out the way you pictured it adds insult to injury. Sin has wrecked the world, so storms are the norm. Accepting the truth that life will have storms is part of the Christian faith. Blessings are ours as Christians like the forgiveness of sins, the Holy Spirit living in our hearts and an eternal home in heaven, but God has not promised to prevent every storm. God does work in our lives and prevents some storms, but some he allows. Storms reveal what is in our hearts as did the wind and waves for Peter and Queen Jezebel’s death threat for Elijah. When we are going through a storm overcome by fear and doubt, our need for Jesus appears. In those moments when the color drains from our cheeks, when our plans A, B, C, D, E, etc. have not worked and we have to sit down to process that our situation is beyond our control, it reveals that our hearts are filled with fear believing there is more power in the storm than God. Fear that the storm is more powerful than our Savior sinks our faith.
Winds and waves were created by the Word of God who still wields power over all things. After Jesus saved Peter in Matthew 14, we read, 32 And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. 33 Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.” When Peter’s trust was in Jesus, he walked on water. When his fear was in the wind and waves, he almost drowned. Jesus’ miracles proved who he claimed to be, the Son of God. Jesus proved who he was by exercising his power over the elements and with healings, but his true power as the Son of God is his work for us. Jesus became one of us, human in every way, and as our brother, he answered the call to walk out of the upper room with the disciples to the Garden of Gethsemane where he was arrested and sentenced to crucifixion because he claimed to be God. Jesus did not stop the false accusations, the spit, the slaps, punches, whip, thorns or nails. Jesus did the work to save us from our sins, and his resurrection proves he is the Son of God who came to save us. And by the Word of God, we stand with courage through storms until we are brought to the shining shores of heaven. When we are in the storms of life, these words from our New Testament reading from Romans 8 hold strong to us like the hand of God, 28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. 29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. 30 And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified. God works for your good as a brother or sister of Christ who was, is and will be with you always.
Jesus did not prevent the wind and the waves. Peter and the disciples were not spared from a terrifying night. Hours before, Jesus blessed them with the task of handing out enough food to feed thousands from five loaves of bread and two fish. Then the storm allowed them to see even more of Jesus’ power. In Psalm 73, we are reminded that we have a reason to be hopeful through the storm that those who trust in themselves or worship false gods do not have, 2 But as for me, my feet had almost slipped; I had nearly lost my foothold. 3 For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. 16 When I tried to understand all this, it troubled me deeply 17 till I entered the sanctuary of God; then I understood their final destiny. 26 My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. When the arrogant and wicked seem unaffected by the storm, we are tempted to follow their ways, but apart from God, there is no salvation. The storms are real, the threats are real, our fears and doubts are real, but so is our Savior’s strength. Storms constantly rage in our lives from an overnight thunderstorm up to a Category 5 hurricane, but we stand in the sanctuary of God. Our response to fear and doubt is recorded in our New Testament reading from Romans 8, 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36 As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” 37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Jesus said three things to his disciples in the storm, and those words remain true for us, “Take courage! I am. Don’t be afraid.” Your Savior Jesus is with you in every storm and he loves you.
When you’re a kid, fear can spring up at a moment’s notice. There will be hiccups, troubles, upsets, tragedies, losses, failures, etc. in life, and some are quick, some are seasons and some last a lifetime. Expecting no storms in life is unrealistic and immature, but in those storms, there will be Jesus who walked on stormy waters, saved Peter from drowning, calmed the wind and waves and delivered his disciples to the shoreline early one morning before most people had their coffee. Jesus who conquered sin and death through the cross and the empty tomb is with you, so take courage in the Son of God to save you in the storm. Amen.
Gunnar Ledermann, Pastor Divine Peace Church
Gunnar Ledermann
I’m passionate about Rockwall’s vibrant community and actively engage with local non-profits and community organizations, including the Rockwall Chamber of Commerce, the City of Rockwall, and the Downtown Rockwall Association. My background includes a bachelor’s degree in Classical Languages and a master’s degree in divinity. Currently serving as a pastor at Divine Peace Church in Rockwall, I also enjoy spending time with my wife, Marinda, and our five children.
